Well good morning to you all. I made a passing comment about Flo Balogun in my post yesterday and everyone seems to have taken it like it’s the most important snippet in world football right now.
I dislike some of the commentary that happens around these sort of things when it comes to ‘greed.’ Whatever he’s asking for cannot be construed as that. In life, you get what you ask for. If you don’t hustle your boss for raises, they’ll tend not to dish them out. Same is true of football.
Also, think about the pros and cons of what he’s being offered.
Stay at Arsenal for: Less money, less minutes, more pressure, less chance of success
Go to Germany for: More money, more minutes, equal development, RIGHT NOW
Phil Foden, who in my opinion has the potential to be generational, is 20, was earning about £29k a week. It’s good money, he’ll get a bigger deal with the next one, but it’s just ok money.
Jadon Sancho, who is the same age, went to Dortmund, he’s played way more games, he has a huge profile, and he earns about £200k a week.
Now, you can easily go the way of Lookman, McGuane, or Chris Willock… a ticket to the Championship. But if you fail in Germany, it’s probably easier to get a job than if you fail in the Premier League.
The baller move is Arsenal, that’s vision, that’s the view of a player that truly believes he’s going to the top.
If he has doubts, Germany all the way.
The Arsenal way is probably the most realistic it’ll be for the next decade. The player is 18 years old. Eddie, Auba and Lacazette will all be gone within the next 2 years. He will land minutes, he’ll develop, then he’ll be ripe just as the squad opens for him.
Will he take the move? Who knows… because football is delicate and you need to wring it for what it’s worth.
A bit of bad news on the fixture front sees Arsenal traveling away to Greece again just before our derby game against Spurs. Jose managed to have his fixtures switched, so they’d avoid going to Zagreb before the big game. Arsenal weren’t so lucky because fans of the same club can’t be allowed to roam in the same city at the same time apparently.
That’s a massive blow. It’s a long plane journey, a shit nights sleep in a hotel if we leave in the morning, and limited preparation. Still, it is what it is. We’ll have to be sharp with rotation and hope the adrenaline of the game carries us through. We certainly didn’t look leggy against Leicester this weekend. Winning gives you an extra kick.
Arsenal really needs to make the next 5 games count. Escape with 3 wins in the Premier League and the backend of our season looks a lot more manageable. Also, we need to make sure the Spurs game has something on it. Beat them and the gap could close to 2 points. Lose and there’s no St Totteringham’s this season.
You gotta take the wins where you can….
Before we go, I don’t want to harp on about the past. But it’s been a month since we dropped off a lot of squad mess. What have we seen so far? Mustafi and Kola leading the charge to oust the manager of Schalke? Check. Mesut Ozil, THE SHACKLED GOD OF CREATIVITY, hasn’t registered a goal or an assist, his side are out of form, and the player went off injured.
I don’t miss any of them.
Worth noting that Saliba continues to land very promising reviews. He has a bit of a weird cult around him, but at least he’s knuckling down, staying fit, and improving game to game. It’d be very nice to see him fighting for that 4th CB spot next season. Same goes for Dino M over in Germany.
Right, short one today, see you in comments land.
We have lots of sellable players who aren’t remotely close to the core of the squad. We can have money to spend provided we are crystal clear about what we want to do. We shouldn’t have problems raising £75-100 million from outward transfers this summer. Arteta has been talking up this summer transfer window so maybe he knows something we don’t. Obviously where we end up at the season determines what is available for transfer business. That said, we do not need a squad this large filled with marginal contributors. Sell all the excess – Willock, Eddie, Chambers, Mavros, Laca,… Read more »
Emirates
No one is selling Matt Ryan to us. I believe his contract runs out this summer. He’s a free transfer.
AFC “My own view? VAR has ruined the game. It has removed the ability to celebrate goals and it now a tool for the petty which doesn’t always have to be used, nudge, nudge, wink, wink. It hasn’t addressed the actual problem it was bought in to address; mistakes. And that’s the elephant in the room.” Yesterday was an embarrassment for VAR . Disallowing a goal by fulham , which was never clear and obvious , and allowing Kante to handle the ball at head high and not be penalised , which was a case of clear and obvious, shows… Read more »
I don’t think they’ll be much money spent this summer, and moving players on will be a real struggle
I do think KSE will back us though
The Walton’s are the richest family in the world, it’s not like they’re short of a few quid
So Liverpool won the PL because of good ol espresso LOL..what a load of tripe..there’s definitely something going on there with Klopp though…I remember when we played bvb 6 years back, their players did exhibit a sort of intensity that is beyond natural human capability…it was almost scary their speed it was..all of them too…blood doping seems more likely to be frank
Rich is the guy that goes to his in-laws to ask for money, right wing guys have zero pride
Lmfaoooo
Terraloon,
From Companies house website
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04250459
Accounts
Next accounts made up to 31 May 2020
due by 31 May 2021
Last accounts made up to 31 May 2019
The Fulham goal was disallowed because the ball came off the arm of an attacking player in the penalty area that directly led to a goal. By the letter of the law, it was correct to be disallowed. Of course that doesn’t mean that the law is not ridiculous.
Sid
The right want to cut benefits and the size of the state
It’s the left who’s answer to everything is always more useless bureaucracy
If I had my way…. we’d put a bonfire to huge sections of the civil service, and we’d halt virtually all government hand outs and grants, the only people who benefit from big centralised bureaucracies, are the bureaucrats themselves
Outside of strategic protectionism, I’d privatise huge sections of the public sector, and if those industries aren’t strong enough to stand on their own two feet, I’d be happy to watch them die
ES There potentially is a time lag from filing accounts on line to them appearing in the public domain.But that’s not really the concern I have.Filing accounts in respect of PLC has been extended due to the pandemic but I personally don’t give a fig about fines or the like it’s the fact that the snapshot is now becoming older by the day. Most other clubs have filed on time. I know that you are confident that a significant amount of funds will become available but based on everything I read I just can’t see it. For three reasons .… Read more »
Strategic protectionism?
Lmfaoooo
Matt
Seems that IFAB have clarified the clarification that from next season won’t be handball
Terraloon
I just saw that. They are creating a monster with all this and it is massively over-engineered!
We have not been a PLC company since 5th October 2018 when Kroenke to the company private following Usmanov’s selling of his shares.
*took
Bergkanmp Arsenal Holdings Ltd is just that a Holding company On the 4th October 2018 the Holding Company by way of a Special Resolution changed its classification from a PLC to a to a Limited company and yes due to the pandemic and the 3 month extension that holding company doesn’t have to file the groups accounts until 31/5/21. Arsenal Holdings own around 18 other companies of various structure the main one is The Arsenal Football Club PLC. It’s this PLC accounts that were due to be filed by 28/2/2021. Other companies within the group such as Arsenal Woman are… Read more »
Matt
The more they try to clarify they more they confuse
The one thing that is a constant is the word deliberate in the law but the reality is that such classification remains in the opinion of the ref and that’s where so many get confused because the only one that knows if it’s deliberate is the player handling the ball. The majority of penalties given are questionable just as are the majority not given.
Courtesy Football365 “ Hindsight is 20/20, but such a painful lack of foresight might never be more hilarious than in 2021. Bambi was bloody well asking for it. 2) This is why Roman Abramovich acted when and how he did. Chelsea were ninth in the Premier League table, level on points with a Southampton side that had a game in hand on them, when he sought to change something. Having spent hundreds of millions assembling an excellent squad the most obvious and cost-efficient solution was to replace – to upgrade – the coach in search of improvement. They were underachieving… Read more »
Ozil still getting labelled as ex arsenal or former arsenal player. Why not just call him a fenerbache player now or a German?
Fener fans may finally realise why arsenal fans wanted ozil gone, sadly some of them were sure to win the league because they managed to land ozil 😂😂
Terraloon,
I was aware of that, I was under the impression they had got an extension for the subsidiary PLC company of 3 months also ?
It’s not on the FC account and as you say, it still states 28/2/2021 ?
Pierre, Matt, Terallonn They are messing around with our game to fit VAR. How can there be so many bloody rule changes, no wonder nobody understands the rules anymore. I was very much for VAR, I thought it would stop the bad decisions, terrible tackles, address impartiality and stop the serial cheats. I was wrong because none of those things has been addressed. They are ruining the game. I want VAR to go I would rather have bad decisions without it than even worse ones with it that take away goals and goal celebrations. Or just use it after games… Read more »
Sid Protectionism produces * higher prices * less consumer choice * lower standards of living * bad service * no pressure to innovate * stagnation + regression Free markets produce * lower prices * more consumer choice * better service * progress + innovation The free market is nature’s change agent, it wipes out bad businesses, and makes way for better businesses Bureaucracies continually reward failure, and gives no way of measuring progress + innovation, against stagnation and regression, because all you’re left with is the statuesque, and then bureaucrats just end up rewarding themselves for their continued failures Strategic… Read more »
S Asoa
Repeat the same ad nauseum re; Chelsea . Once Tuchel runs foul of the players , they will down tools on him and then he will get the sack and fat pay as compensation. Lampard given time wouldve taken them to the top steadily , no proof of it yes but he had the respect and command of the dressing room . He still was a rookie choice for them very unlike Abramovich for him to hire one.
Looks like Van Dyke really is something special seeing as Liverpool have become Southampton in his absence. I dont remember a CB being that influential to the point were you go from the best team in the league to also rans.
Don’t remember Kompany, Campbell, Terry, Vidic and guys like that having such impact. And those guys were impactful.
Chelsea climbed that table quick though. They ve gone 9th to 4th just like that. Wevere ve been trying to pass the 8th position forever
Na Me 000
Or it could simply be coincidence ?
Or even tired legs and they have burnt out with so many games and a lack of strength in depth ?
Klopp, Tuchel, Ancelotti, Guardiola, Rodgers,…
Shit, trying to make Top 4 is starting to look like getting into heaven.
Bergkamp
The 2019 accounts for the Football club PLC were received at Companies house on 30/11/2019 so were on time however they weren’t visible on line at Companies House till 6 December.
The holding companies accounts were published on Arsenals website on 28/2/2020.
I don’t believe for one second that the accounts have net been completed/ audited and indeed filed but as far as I can see the vast bulk of PL Cubs have filed their accounts and that includes those like Chelsea who did TTP have to do so till 31/5/2021
Bergkamp63
Its certainly possible its fatigue, seeing as VDV himself got injured way back then. But before his injury they were the team to beat.
Terraloon,
I think they got an extension because of an “event” it might have something to do with the government loan for £120m ?
Honestly, generating £100 million in sales? Who the fuck to? Lacazette is on £9.36 million pounds wages, we would be lucky to give him away! Its not gonna happen. Willock, AMN, Nelson, maybe £5 million each but can’t really see it. As for buying Grealish, it’s beyond fantasy land.
This is how I see it.
Sell Bellerin. Promote Cedric, buy back up RB, back up LB, Matt Ryan for free, and if we are very lucky, buy Ø.
Maybe some freebies or loans.
IHGB,
Yep, can’t see anyone having any money to buy this summer, every club in Europe is skint for starters !
Klopp is prioritizing the CL he will most definately get to the finals, might even win it. Thet are just going through the motions in the EPL
im telling you for free!
IHGB
I think some of our fans like to set themselves up for disappointments. If by any chance Arsenal doesn’t get 100 million for those players, then its wailing and moaning.
This might be controversial but Grealish for £M (fill in what number you like), doesn’t look that great to me, he reminds me of Joe Cole, Ross Barkley, Alexis Sanchez too much.
Wouldn’t surprise me if he has a couple of good seasons and blows out like the above.
Neoliberalism(“free market”) is incompatible with democracy, transparency, social welfare, peace, equality, a healthy environment, sustainability, non-biased journalism, effective use of global resources
@pierre & Afc- wait till u see what that c** t “friend” does with var on sat if he gets half a chance.
Haha very nice try Pierre but it was too blatant to wash Ozil wasn’t getting goals or assist in either of the last two seasons. His new record is not an exception – it’s the rule and where his level is at Martinelli May have missed a few chances but has already been a breath of fresh air at a time when arteta was not far shy of getting the sack. He was one of the few (all kids) who kicked the club into gear then got promptly dropped never to be seen again due to ‘reasons’ Try again mate.… Read more »
Var is not the problem, hideously poor officiating is the problem
It’s like parachutes are useful when skydiving but I’d fully expect the PL officials to open their chute either 2-3 seconds before impact or whilst still sitting in the plane
As much as the imagery is hilarious, this is the literally level we’re talking about for English officials
Diet pep is prioritizing Europa over the EPL, problem is being 10th in the EPL means you have NO parachute
We are not getting 100m in sales
50m would be a job extremely well done
Nobody is throwing 2019 market rate transfer fees at us For players in 2021
With regards to purchases.Have been most rumoured to be Lamptey @ RB ,Bissouma again Brighton.Be surprised if they flog two of their stars to us? & biggest surprise & prob bullshit ,Konate from RB Leipzig from which we’re going toe to toe with yahnited? Not to mention Eduard ,who now is supposedly off to Leicester for two Bob…..make of it what you will.
Sid he’s not prioritizing the EL over the league, he’s prioritizing the CL over the EL.
If he went balls to the wall in the league and thus got knocked out of the EL what would be the point when we still probably won’t make the EL places and definitely not CL
I’d much rather win a (second rate) European trophy and be in the CL next year and finish 8th or whatever. Hands down a better outcome
We aren’t qualifying for any European football via the league this season. That ship sailed some time back
Uwot we better not be in for konate we don’t need more CBs
Agree with China VAR not the issue at all, how the information is utilised is where VAR lets the game down. Stopping the play and pulling a microscope out then judging the information without any sort of interpretation is so dull. Last night was abysmal, Fulhams none goal ruling, followed by Werners fingernail off side call it not how anyone envisioned this tech being put to use. Just correct the obvious and keeps some level of flow to the game. Every time a goal is scored is now a agonising wait for the all clear. Sucking life out of game… Read more »
Bergkamp
Re: Grealish, does he have any injuries issues so far in his career ? Would wait a couple years too to see how he keeps developing.
We could easily generate 10 – 20m on some of our younger players with Prem experience. Sell five of them ad that is somewhere between 50 – 100m. Willock and AMN have started well with their loans. So i don’t get this morbid pessimism that seems natural with some of you. Torreira and Guendouzi won’t be given away – there’s 20 – 25m price tags easily there Laca will be cheaper re age and contract – probably 10- 12m Re some Grealish comments – i agree – i don’t think it will happen although I’d love to see it if… Read more »
We have 7 games out of 12 against virtually the bottom 7 (bar Palace), I wouldn’t say reaching 7th (most likely needed position for EL) would be classed as a ship that’s sailed ?
The only way we are getting some of the names mentioned is if we can part exchange the likes of AMN, Willock, Nketiah, Nelson etc.
Sal the officials don’t see it that way because they’re soulless cretins
They don’t have a concept of sucking the soul out of football with their nonsense because they’d need a soul of their own first
Perhaps Norwich will do a 4 for 2 !
AMN, Willock, Nketiah, Nelson
For Aarons & Buendia !
Might have to throw in Laca !
Bergkamp/Terraloon,
Arsenal financial results just published and on Arsenal website.
WOAB,
Don’t see them ?
Yes I do !
47.8m loss add that to 2019 27.1m loss !
That’s not good !
234.5m wage bill !
Doesn’t help Fulham now does it.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/56291850
‘We have 7 games out of 12 against virtually the bottom 7 (bar Palace), ‘
This is a safer bet than winning Europa league
You heard it here 1st!
Agreed, PL route is better than Europa. Don’t make the Emery’s mistake.
I have just read an article in the Telegraph which may have major consequences for Spanish Football and in particular for both Real Madrid and Barcelona. The EU [not UEFA] have found that both clubs have received “illegal” state aid in Spain over the past 30 years. They have quashed Barcelona’s appeal against original decision. The decision provided by European Court of Justice will require the Spanish Government to claw back taxes from four Clubs [RM, Barcelona, Osasuna, Athletico Bilbao] who were exempt on account of their being membership only and having not for profit status. Apparently the rules conferred… Read more »
Sal Yep, it’s a joke.Lucky Spurs, again. Interestingly, IFAP are even having a pop at our useless match officials: IFAB said “incorrect applications of the law” made the change necessary but “it will remain an offence if a player scores accidentally with their hand or arm, or uses their hand or arm directly before scoring”. The body also clarified its interpretation of the offside law, saying the definition for handball, whereby the arm ends at the bottom of the armpit, must be used when judging whether a player is offside or not. Like Chelsea’s Timo Werner disallowed goal against Liverpool… Read more »
The top 3 in Spain (Atletico to a much lesser extent) have been getting far more from the TV deals than all the other clubs in La Liga for longer than I can remember, it’s not a surprise they have been dominating for so long.
Payback’s a bitch !
Emirates
“The EU [not UEFA] have found that both clubs have received “illegal” state aid in Spain over the past 30 years. They have quashed Barcelona’s appeal against original decision”.
That is interesting. As I said the other day, Barcelona is a basket case financially. This won’t be so easy to get out of. All these clubs have been getting away with murder while wages and transfer fees have gone through the roof, it’s not been organic. Let’s hope they don’t get away with the flagrant abuse of finacial rules like Man City and Chelsea.
This armpit bollocks is open to too much interpretation.
AFC
We know that UEFA turns a “blind eye” to the financial indiscretions of their favourite football clubs.
However, this decision was made by the European Court of Justice on behalf of EU. That
decision will be difficult for both clubs to overturn. One suspects that they will be given time
to repay the tax, but it will have long term consequences for both clubs.
We get 50m for torreira & guendozi
Laca 30?
Amn, willock, nelson, nketiah?
Bellerin 20-30?
We are going to have to get Del Boy in to do some deals this summer.
Swaparama’s galore !
I hope we do get rid of auba though it does seem fantastical.
God forbid we buy any proven EPL players!
Winthorpe
When did Chelsea get a slap on the wrist for FFP ?
Winthorpe i agree but wouldnt mind some serious MF reinforcements. Would live to see xhaka lose his spot in the xi and would rather see elneny only play when injuries get out of hand. Right now our MF is the biggest problem we have, every other team can set up to exploit them
Madrid have been on the fiddle for years
When I was working in Madrid the city council gave 168 mil € for their training ground which was worth a quarter of that and then let them carry on using it.
Each year they received some sort of payment from the city.
Barca and Madrid get 75% of the tv money it is not shared out.
Auba for Ode would be good business
I don’t think willock and the rest of them amn nelson etc are cut out for a CL team. Esp. Seeing nelson more obsessed w social media than fighting his way into the squad. A lot of youth teamers are still living in the soft wenger regime
Winthorpe
That ban was due to a FIFA charge re younger players and had nothing to do with UEFA and FFP.
One more season of loaning Ode before buying we already bought a crock from the othe Madrid
Just starting to grasp some of the figures in the accounts. As at 31/5/20 the cash on hand had reduced to £109.9 million. Wage bill remained roughly the same. Arsenal were owed £46.5 million in respect of historical transfers but in turn they owed £153.6 million. In effect that’s near enough all the cash reserves The bottom line is very very close to the loss that AST were predicting. So post 31/5/20 there has been a loan of £120 million that matures in May 2021, a further nett £56 million has been spent on transfers. AST were predicting a further… Read more »
The financials don’t appear great, although not as bad as some other clubs.
Perhaps swap deals are the way forward for us, and a most other clubs, this summer. I doubt we will see many big money moves, it will be quite a unique transfer window.
Terraloon
I think that our losses in this financial year will be less than forecast, because the club’s wage bill will most probably be reduced significantly.
Also I think that Arsenal will start generating transfer budget next summer by making sales.
Most of the deadwood which was unsaleable has been offloaded.
There are a lot of unwanted players on our books who will generate transfer fees. That will
cover most of our recruits.
I suspect that Arsenal’s squad will be a lot leaner this summer and more cost effective.
I’m not so sure about that Chris – if there is confidence the crowds will be back next season – and at the moment that is a very likely scenario – then there will be pent up demand from s number of clubs to rebuild, especially after doing very little for 2 years
Sky just speculating about Man Utd being interested in Erling Haaland. Next month it’s 20 years since Roy Keane’s diabolical challenge on his Dad. Alfie Haaland. We all remember that. Erling Halland was probably playing with his toys when his Dad suffered the injury that ended his career. Former Man City and FA Chairman David Bernstein said it was the worst individual thing he has ever been directly involved in, and the worst he had ever seen on the pitch. He said: “ As a human being, it was an awful thing to see. He turns over the channel when… Read more »
Haaland never going to man United, he’s nailed on to go to city in a year or two.
The finances are going to fuck our off-season btw, no big signings expected from me even with offloads.
ES We keep hearing this about the wage bill being significantly reduced yet the numbers barely go down. Yes a few contracts have been cancelled but the likes of Ozil almost certainly will have been in receipt of a settlement then the players will have been repaid a % of their voluntary pay reduction add to that incomings particularly those like Cedric and William will be costing a pretty penny.There potentially will be a reduction but I would not be at all surprised if come the publication of the 20/21 accounts tithe wages are still way north of £200 million.… Read more »
Anonymous Commentator
The Kroenke’s didn’t become billionaires through being stupid, they know the team needs investment or they’ll end up losing more money long term. Players will become unhappy, Arteta will become unhappy, fans will become unhappy.
I expect us to spend the money we generate in the summer. 100M+
Samir
absolutely – a number of people on here have number blindness. it’s not how football works. The club were aware of these numbers as they were happening – that’s what management accounts are for. This isn’t a surprise to them and you can bet the Kroenkes are broadly comfortable with where the club is in the grand scheme of things
Well you’re the one who wants to speculate on transfers and who can afford what, Winthorpe. You ‘re happy to do that without a clue on finances then?
Haaland senior got more time to be around his son and mentor him after Roy Keanes tackle.
Wow, a set of accounts with very serious implication, and Winthorpe wants to talk about football.
Why is LG littered with people who are number blind?